Community
Giving back to the community has been central to our firm for more than 100 years and remains an important part of Arthur Cox’s legacy.
Through our responsible business programme we support charities, volunteering in Ireland and Zambia, and pro bono legal services. Over the past year, we have worked with valued partners providing vital frontline services to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, helping them sustain and grow their impact.
Charity Partnerships
Over the past 12 months we have come to the end of a three-year cycle with one set of charity partners, and we commenced a new cycle with three charities from 1 January 2026.
In December 2025 our partnerships with A Lust for Life, Children’s Health Foundation and Women’s Aid, which were selected for support by our people and commenced in January 2023, came to a close. Over the course of these partnerships, we were proud to support each organisation through staff fundraising, firm donations, volunteering and pro bono support, helping them to deliver vital services and make a meaningful difference in the communities they serve.
To hear more about the impact of our partnerships with each of the three charities, please click on the tab for each charity below.
NEW CHARITY PARTNERSHIPS 2026-2028
In January 2026 we began a new three-year cycle with Barretstown, Friends of the Elderly Ireland, and the Marie Keating Foundation.
These charities received the most votes from our staff in a firmwide survey. We are already working closely with all three organisations on fundraising, volunteering and sponsorship initiatives, and we look forward to our continued partnerships with them over the next three years. Swipe through our carousel to see more about our new charity partnerships.
Continuing our legacy charity collaborations
In addition to our three-year charity partnerships, we are pleased to continue our long-term relationships with Boardmatch, Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities, Rethink Ireland, basis.point and our educational partners.
Calcutta Run 2026
Once again, we supported the Law Society’s Calcutta Run in May 2026. As this is a key fundraiser organised by the legal sector, we were proud to have excellent representation from the firm involved in all the associated events: golf, tennis, tag rugby and running.
The Calcutta Run 2026
Volunteering
We are proud of our long tradition of volunteering which is a key part of the culture and life at Arthur Cox. This year we have increased our total volunteering hours by almost 10% on the previous year, to 3,111. This has been attributed to an increased number of volunteering initiatives throughout the year, involving our people from all departments across the firm.
VOLUNTEERING HOURS
STAFF VOLUNTEERS
VOLUNTEERING INITIATIVES
INCREASE IN VOLUNTEERING HOURS SINCE LAST YEAR
long-term volunteering partnerships
We are committed to several long-term volunteering partnerships with organisations that include The Early Learning Initiative at the National College of Ireland, Special Olympics and PRIME, the legal work experience programme which is an alliance-based initiative providing high-quality work placements in the legal sector.
These partnerships form the core of our volunteering programme here in Ireland. In addition to these long-standing relationships, our new charity partnerships have also provided us with new volunteering opportunities. To hear more about our work with The Early Learning Initiative and Special Olympics, please watch the videos below.
International Volunteer Year 2026
2026 is International Volunteer Year, as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly. We are pleased to be part of the National Committee, which was set up by Volunteer Ireland to lead stakeholders from civil society, Government, academia and the private sector, to deliver a programme of activities throughout the calendar year.
The Arthur Cox Zambia Project
The cornerstone of our volunteering programme continues to be the Arthur Cox Zambia Project which aims to raise the standards of living in isolated regions of Zambia by supporting a wide range of initiatives, including food and water security projects and the development of health and education infrastructure. The Project continues to work with trusted NGO and community partners to support grassroots initiatives that are identified and implemented by local communities.
Water security
Arthur Cox funded repairs to boreholes in Munyona Central and Sintemba as part of our focus on water security in 2025-2026.
EDUCATION
In August 2025, 19 trainees from the Arthur Cox Dublin office and one trainee from the Belfast office travelled to Zambia and camped in the village of Kayola West. They worked alongside the Kayola West community to construct a two-classroom block with funding from Arthur Cox. Prior to construction, classes were being held in a small church structure with no roof.
The Arthur Cox Zambia Project provided funding for the completion of:
- a two-classroom block in Kayola West
- a three-classroom block in Hakalinda as well as a teacher’s house
- a two-classroom block in Munyona Central
The existing classroom blocks at Hakalinda and Munyona Central were built with the help of Arthur Cox trainees in 2014 and 2016 and can no longer support their growing number of students (currently at 448).
In addition, following consultations with the Jesuit Mission Office in Chikuni and local communities, Arthur Cox committed funding for a new three-classroom block at Chipembele. The existing two-classroom block, constructed with the support of Arthur Cox trainees in 2015, is no longer sufficient to accommodate the school’s 363 students.
40 farmers in the Loanja region received three days of solar-borehole powered irrigation training along with drip irrigation system materials and vegetable seed packs to combat the effects of drought.
Arthur Cox trainees working alongside members of the Kayola West community building a kiln. This kiln was used to bake bricks to build a school for the local community.
Students at the Kayola West school, pictured with donations of school items, toys and books as part of the Clothing and Toy Fundraising Drive, organised by members of the firm.
FOOD SECURITY
Following the 2025 harvest, Arthur Cox assisted farmers of the Loanja Rice Growers in purchasing rice and groundnuts from the co-operative following a multi-season devastating drought in Zambia. The Loanja Rice Growers Company, set up with the support of Arthur Cox, is a farming co-operative based in the plains of the Loanja River in southwest Zambia. Farmer-led training took place in December 2025 with the support of Arthur Cox and, since then, participating communities have diversified into vegetable production, poultry, goat, cattle and pig rearing, as well as agroforestry and fruit cultivation, improving food security and increasing household consumption. Water from solar boreholes supports crop production and animal rearing. In turn, income from the sale of crops and animals is used to maintain these vital boreholes in a sustainable manner.
Pro Bono
We believe access to justice is fundamental to the rule of law. Through our Pro Bono work we provide free, high-quality legal assistance to refugees, social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations, supporting those who cannot afford legal services.
Pro bono work is central to our culture and is delivered to the same professional standard as commercial matters. We were proud this year to be named Pro Bono: Outstanding Firm at the Chambers Europe Awards in June 2026. This Europe-wide recognition reflects the impact of our pro bono work and our contribution to advancing access to justice.
Scroll through our pro bono key highlights from this year:
The Power of Pro Bono: Justice and the Fight Against the Death Penalty
This event at the Law Society of Ireland in April was hosted jointly by the firm and Amicus, the legal charity that helps provide representation for vulnerable people facing the death penalty. Speakers included Margot Ravenscroft, Director of Amicus, Samantha Knight KC of Matrix Chambers, and Professor Raoul Shonemann of the Capital Punishment Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, highlighting how pro bono advocacy supports the global ongoing campaign to end use of the death penalty.
Corporate Sprint with The Wheel
In partnership with The Wheel, the umbrella group for the charity sector in Ireland, the firm held a Corporate Sprint initiative in June. This was to address the issue that many charities face as they undertake vital work with limited resources and limited access to legal expertise. Corporate and Governance lawyers developed practical guidelines on key areas of need identified by The Wheel and these resources will be distributed across their network to ensure they reach the organisations that need them most.
Secondment Placement Programme
Our Secondment Placement Programme places future Arthur Cox trainees and paralegals with NGO law centres to deliver frontline legal services to vulnerable communities. This year eight secondees were placed with four pro bono partner organisations: Community Law and Mediation, the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the Irish Refugee Council and the Mercy Law Resource Centre. This programme provides our partners with additional capacity to meet the growing demand for their services.
Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC)
FLAC is an independent law centre dedicated to ensuring equal access to justice for all. We collaborate with FLAC to improve access to justice in our community. Our lawyers support the FLAC information line and employment law clinics each week. This year we have responded to approximately 700 calls from FLAC service users and held over 100 employment clinics. Arthur Cox lawyers operate the information line, responding to callers' legal queries and providing referrals as needed on issues such as housing, social welfare, employment and family law.
Carolann Minnock, Of Counsel and Charlotte Ashmore, associate, talk about the pro bono practice at Arthur Cox and how it helps marginalised and vulnerable individuals who are struggling to access justice.
Find out more about our pro bono practice on the Arthur Cox website.
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